Really Awesome People’s CEO Guy Earnshaw explores the right workforce mix for the public sector. Photo: Really Awesome People.
In the heat of election season, reducing the number of public servants makes for a juicy headline. But behind the bluster of election promises, backflips and press conference soundbites, it’s worth asking, what’s really at stake when we talk about public sector staffing?
The Coalition seized on the growth in public service numbers as an election policy, framing it as fat to be trimmed – preferably from Canberra. Labor countered with a hyper-local defence of jobs in the capital, pivoting from national framing to hometown rallying cries.
This week, Peter Dutton backed down, but the APS isn’t a zero-sum game or a political football. And it’s not just about Canberra.
The size, shape, and makeup of the public sector workforce have shifted in recent years – and they are not necessarily going in the wrong direction. Change can be a good thing. What matters is the composition and deployment of that workforce, not just the headline number.
The right workforce mix – when done properly – is a three-part mix.
First is the permanent workforce of public servants focused on long-term, stable delivery of frontline services and essential government operations.
Next are consultants engaged for strategic reform and innovation.
Third, labour hire and ICT specialists brought in for time-bound delivery and technical execution.
Each has a role. Each has a place. The trick is not overreliance on any one component – and better clarity on when and why they’re being used.
Really Awesome People CEO Guy Earnshaw says debates on public sector staffing should focus on taking a pragmatic approach that combines strategic insight, technical capability, and operational stability. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Neither major party can deliver its ambitious policy agenda without a capable, adaptive and well-structured workforce. The Coalition’s efficiency drive will still need people to deliver aged care reforms, defence procurement and welfare services. Labor’s agenda – from housing to renewables – also hinges on implementation capacity, not just vision.
So regardless of who wins the next election, the pendulum is going to have to swing back to the sensible centre. That means resisting ideological extremes, whether that’s an open chequebook for contractors or staffing cuts from the APS, and instead focusing on a pragmatic approach that combines strategic insight, technical capability and operational stability.
Let’s not confuse public contractors with political footballs. They’re not. They’re part of the machinery that makes government work. And if we’re serious about outcomes – whether it’s improving aged care, simplifying services, or modernising systems – we’ll need all parts of the workforce pulling in the same direction.
In the end, cutting the right number isn’t nearly as important as building the right capability.
Guy Earnshaw is head of recruitment at Really Awesome People.
